The present invention relates to a mattress protector with improved moisture management and bed bug containment. The art of bedding products is well developed including numerous products that are used in association with beds, mattresses, box springs, and other bed components.
A typical bed includes a frame, a headboard, a box spring, and a mattress supported on the box spring. Through human interaction, it is often the case that perspiration from persons using the bed is present on the mattress as well as on sheets and pillow cases. It would be advantageous if bedding products could incorporate a mechanism to manage the perspiration present on the bedding and mattress.
Additionally, the presence of moisture on the mattress, sheets, and pillow cases as well as blankets can provide a hospitable environment for the growth of bacteria which can cause discomfort, noxious odors, as well as proliferation of diseases. Prevention of bacterial growth in bedding would thus be an advantageous development as would blocking of allergens.
Sometimes, bed bugs are present in bed mattresses. Bed bugs are typically nocturnal and bite the human occupants of a bed while they are sleeping causing welts as well as potentially causing diseases to arise. An industry has developed in recent years concerning bedding products designed to prevent bed bugs from attacking human bed occupants. Bedding products to prevent bites from bed bugs are advantageous and take on a variety of forms.
To date, no bedding product has arisen, to Applicants' knowledge, that addresses all of these issues simultaneously, the issue of managing perspiration, the issue of depressing growth of bacteria, the issue of blocking allergens, and the issue of stopping bed bugs from biting the occupants of a bed. The goal of the present invention is to address all of these issues simultaneously so that a bed is a more hospitable place to sleep while at the same time deterring a bed from being a place where diseases caused by bacteria can advance.
Applicants are aware of Published Application No. US 2011/0250409 A1 to Marte et al., published Oct. 13, 2011. The underlying application Ser. No. 13/054,357 is abandoned. The invention disclosed in the Marte et al. Published Application was assigned to HeiQ mATERIALS ag. Marte et al. disclose a multi-functional, responsive functional layer on solid surfaces and the method for production thereof. The substances disclosed by Marte et al. include anti-microbial properties as well as the ability to coat fabrics and manage moisture on the fabrics. Applicants incorporate by reference the entirety of the disclosure of the Marte et al. Published Application.
Marte et al. disclose a responsive polymer that binds to water at lower body temperatures, i.e., less than 30° C., and that precipitates water at higher temperatures due to increasing insolubility. See paragraph [0076]. The entirety of the Marte et al. Published Application discloses use of the disclosed substances on a variety of types of apparel. The final paragraph before the proposed claims ([0127]) has a single sentence: “Other uses are cloths, tablecloths, tent tarps, films, bed linens, or a use as a water collector.” This extremely brief disclosure of a potential use in association with bed linens does not in Applicants' view teach or suggest any specific manner of use of the substances disclosed nor how they are applied nor where they are applied on bedding products. The present invention, among other numerous features, incorporates substances such as those disclosed by Marte et al. as one component of the present invention, however, Applicants submit that the application of those substances in the manner disclosed herein is unobvious. The present invention is not, in fact, directed to “bed linens” but rather is directed to mattress protectors, a different product.
Mattress protectors that incorporate features to prevent bed bugs from escaping the mattress protector are generally known. The present invention incorporates a unique combination of features to enclose a mattress and prevent bed bugs from escaping the enclosure. Among the features incorporated in the present invention are a laminate covering all of the interior surfaces of the protector. A zipper is provided at a location where the side walls of the protector intersect the bottom wall. This location separates the zipper from the people sleeping on the bed to prevent abrasion from the zipper. The zipper facilitates opening and closing of the mattress protector, preferably around a portion of the circumference thereof. At the end of the zipper track where the mattress protector is completely closed, a flap is provided that extends perpendicular to the direction of extension of the zipper track and folds over the side wall of the mattress protector as well as extending over the bottom of the mattress protector.
Applicants are aware of the following U.S. Pat. No. 7,552,489 to Bell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,087,111 to Paris, U.S. Pat. No. 8,359,688 to Murphy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,413,276 to Rattner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,429,777 to Svoboda, U.S. Pat. No. 8,516,633 to Dobin, U.S. Pat. No. 8,528,134 to Bell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,615,826 to Michael, U.S. Pat. No. 8,806,678 to Michael, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,938,824 to Rensink et al.
Each of the patents listed in the prior paragraph discloses a mattress encasement or enclosure that includes zipper features designed to preclude bed bugs from escaping the protector or enclosure. A variety of structures are disclosed but none of them includes the combination of a VELCRO-backed flap that folds perpendicularly with respect to the direction of extension of the zipper track and folds from a side wall of the enclosure to overlying the bottom surface or underside of the enclosure.